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WILLIAM M. NORRIS, 

PRINCETON, N. J. 

^An^lytical and Consulting Chemist 



3PECIALTY--THE LEATHER TRADE. 

MANUFACTURER OF 

SPECIAL PREPARATIONS USED IN THE 

MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER. 



New Solid Bate." "The Nonius Black," 

11 NEW Gas BAT! (formerly known as Standard Iron Liquor). 

"Bleaching Tan Sweetener." "Glace Black." 

New Clean Sig." " Harness Leather Black." 

11 Hard Hide and Skin Softener." " Egg Yolk Substitute.'' 
" Russian Stuffing." " Seasoning Glazes." 



ft'bc p mutton |Jress: 

C. S. Robinson & Co., Steam Power Printers. 
[Copyright, 1888, by Win. M. Xorris.] 






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I would again respectfully call your attention to the merits of 
my preparations which are largely used by leading manufacturers 
in all parts of the country. 

These preparations are all prepared under my personal super- 
vision from formulas originated by myself and protected by patents 
and caveats which I own. 

The trade is warned against worthless and fraudulent imita- 
tions. 

During the past three years I have visited numerous tanneries 
in all parts of the country, and the kind co-operation of my friends 
in the trade has enabled me to determine their needs, to conduct 
many practical experiments, and to bring my preparations to their 
present high state of perfection. 

In describing my preparations I have avoided indiscriminate 
praise which is indulged in by so many parties who endeavor to 
sell to this trade and which convinces no one, and have confined 
myself to a clear and just setting forth of their merits. 

Competition in the leather trade is now very sharp, the margin 
of profit in turning hides into leather is very small, and no material 
which increases the cost of the finished product would be looked 
upon with any favor. 

The special preparations which I describe below have all been 
put to the sure test of practical use, and their merits have sub- 
stantiated all that was claimed for them, and in all cases they will 
save money and will prove desirable in other ways. 

I would state for the benefit of those who have never dealt 
with me before, that I guarantee all my preparations to be exactly 
as represented, in so far, that should there be any complaint I will 
refill the orcier gratis or refund the money paid. The prompt ship- 
ment and safe arrival of goods is also guaranteed. 



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"BATE." 

Chicken and pigeon pures are still largely used for this purpose. 
The hides after being unhaired and washed are thrown into an old bate 
where they are allowed to remain a few hours; they are then removed 
and placed iu a new bate where they remain over night. 

In this the hides completely lose their plumpness and become soft 
and slippery, the lime is largely neutralized, and the dirt, grease and fine 
hairs work out of the hides freely when they are subsequently slated. 
The theory of the action of the bating process is somewhat obscure. 
Some attribute its action to the effects of the salts of ammonia, while no 
doubt the salts of ammonia do neutralize the lime, but when they are 
used alone they do not have the desired effect of softening the epidermis 
and properly preparing the hides for the tan. In fact, as Proctor has 
pointed out, the process is a fermentive one. The active bate swarms 
with the bacteria and to this fermentive or putrefactive action, rather 
than to its chemical constituents the action of the bate must be attributed. 

That manufacturers should still continue to use these disgusting sub- 
stances is extraordinary. This is no doubt due to the fact that the men 
in charge of this process of bating from long experience are perfectly 
familiar with the properties, action and effects upon hides of chicken and 
pigeon pures. Aud also to the fact that the various substitutes introduced 
to the trade, owing to a misconception of their originators, as to what 
was required of a bate, did not accomplish what was desired. 

If the above theory is correct, a •■ Bate" to be effective must neu- 
tralize the lime, and also reduce the hide until it becomes soft and slippery 
and also to act upon the epidermis that the pores are thoroughly opened, 
so the dirt, grease, and fine hairs work out freely upon the beam, leaving 
the hides thoroughly cleansed and in perfect condition for tanning. This 
my "New Solid Bate," which I have recently originated, thoroughly 
accomplishes. It has a mild fermentive action on the skins and developes 
in the bate vat weak organic acids which neutralize the lime in a perfectly 
safe way ; it also reduces the skins, opens the pores of the epidermis, and 
thoroughly accomplishes all that is required of a bate. 

Its other advantages over pures are : 

1) It is solid, dry and compact in bulk (100 lbs. to cubic foot), but 
little space is required for storage. Charges for transportation are low. 

2) It is all packed in neat 4-lb. paper boxes, so marked that pounds 
and half pounds may be cut off without bother of weighing. 

3) It is clean, and developes no offensive odors, unaffected by 
thunder- showers or other atmospheric changes. 

4) It quickly dissolves in water, does not require watching while in 
use, as its action is regular and always the same, 



5) It contains all the operative and useful properties of the old bates, 
but is free from odor and injurious useless ingredients, such as sand, 
dirt, etc., which constitute about nine-tenths of all animal pures. 

DIRECTIONS FOR USE. 

1 lb. of New Solid Bate is sufficient for a pack of hides, 42 70-lb. hides, 
or 70 35-lb. hides, or 30 90-lb. hides. 

1) Take a clean barrel, remove the head and place a spigot in the side 
about six inches from the bottom. Place tlie barrel in convenient 
proximity to bate vats. 

2) From the package shave with a knife the desired quantity into a 
bucketful of warm water. Rub these shavings under water between the 
thumb and finger until dissolved (it will not injure the hands in any way). 

3; Pour this into the barrel which has been filled about half-full of 
warm water, stir well and allow to stand at least twenty-four hours. 

4) Draw off nearly all the contents of barrel and pour into the warm 
water of the abating vat, stir well, and put in hides, which have been 
washed after unhairing. 

5) Prepare more bate as before, for the next day, and so on. 

6) When the hides are removed from the abating vat, run off nearly 
but not quite all of the old bate liquor. 

It will be noticed that no change in the usual factory arrangements 
are required in using my "New Solid Bate." All bates work best in 
pools or tubs in which there is a wheel. Many puresmen do not run off 
the liquor from the abating vat but freshen it up from day to clay with 
new bate. If this method is pursued, the contents of the abating vat 
should be well stirred up and about one-third drawn off every day and 
warm water and fresh bate solution added. In this manner the same 
bating solution can be used for several weeks. 

Price of "New Solid Bate," 35 cts. a pound, all packed in 4-lb. 
paper boxes ; 25 of these in 100-lb. cases. One 4 lb. package free by 
express, $1.50. 

"NORRIS' BLEACHING TAN SWEETENER." 

This preparation was originated by me in the Summer of 1885, and 
in December of that year I filed a caveat in the Patent Office at Washing- 
ton to protect my rights. Watt, in his recent work on the Manufacture 
of Leather, says, "It being an established fact that tannic acid, under 
the influence of moisture aud atmospheric air, becomes converted into 
gallic acid, it will readily be understood that tan liquors which are con- 
stantly exposed to the air will naturally be susceptible of this change, 
and, as a consequence, a portion of their active principle (tannin) must 
in course of time suffer decomposition, Apart from this, howevrr, a fer- 
mentive process takes place in the liquors, by which a considerable por- 



tion of the tannin is converted into gallic acid. This is called gallic 
fermentation, and lias been a constant source of loss and trouble to the 
tanner." My "Tan Sweetener" when used in small quantities in the 
"handlers," "lay-aways," etc., entirely prevents thisohange from taking 
place, and preserves all the tannin intact to be combined with the hides 
and taken out as leather, at the same time making stock a better and 
lighter color. 

But. a tanner may sny, "I require sour liquors at the first stages of 
my tanning to plump my stock and remove lime." This is true and only 
enough " Tan Sweetener " should be used to keep the liquors sweet while 
stock is being tanned. The liquors will soon sour afterwards, when they 
may be used for plumping, etc. Its other advantages are, that it kills 
any remaining trace of lime that may be in the stock and thoroughly 
cleanses the stock from all foul animal matter, and arrests any tendency 
to decay which may have been derived from the sour plumping liquors or 
bate. If used as directed it cannot injure the stock in any way. The 
Sweeten kh softens the water in the tan vat, facilitates the tanning, and 
makes stock a better and lighter color. 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR USE. 

1) Always use a wooden spigot in the barrel and draw off 
in a wooden pail. 

2) Fill a pool or tub about two-thirds full of water, then to every 
1000 gallons of water pour 1 gallon of my "Tan Sweetener." Put the 
hides or skins in this, as they come from the bate or sour liquors. After 
being washed and worked, stir the stock around for a few minutes and 
allow to remain over night. In the morning they will be thoroughly 
cleansed and in perfect condition to enter the tan liquors. 

3) In each "handler" or "drum" use 1 gallon of the "Tan 
Sweetener " at first and a small quantity from day to day as circumstances 
require. The stock at once fake a tine color in the "handlers " which is 
maintained through the whole tauniug process. 

4) In each "lay-away" use 1 gallon. This is a very valuable prep- 
aration for Hemlock Tanners as it saves much material and produces a 
tine color. Also for the same reason for Union Crop, Patent Leather, 
Bag, Belting, Lace, Harness and Upper Leather Tanners, and for retauning 
purposes. 

Bark Extract Manufacturers will find it valuable, as it destroys the 
coloring matter extracted from the barks and protects the tannin from the 
injurious effects of too much heat in the process of manufacture. And 
the resultant extract will be of a better color and less liable to ferment 
when used. " Tan Sweetener " is used for this purpose, with the ground 
barks, 1 gallon to a ton. 

Price of Norris' " Bleaching Tan Sweetener," 25 cents a gallon, 
about 3 cents a pound. Sold by the barrel, 5-gallon sample kegs, $1.25. 



Oak liquors are very difficult to keep sweet. I make an extra grade suit- 
able for this purpose at 50 cents a gallon. 

Many tanners do not know how much their pools, vats, tubs, &c, 
contain. And as it is important to obtain the best results that my " Tan 
Sweetener" should be used in the proportions mentioned above, the fol- 
lowing rules for estimating the contents in gallons of pools, vats, etc., is 
given here. 

For a rectangular tub, tank or vat — Multiply the length in feet by the 
width in feet, and this product by depth in feet, and the whole product 
by 7J. This will give, roughly, the contents in gallons. 

For a circular tub, tank or vat — Square the diameter in inches and 
multiply this product by the depth of tank, tub, or vat, in inches. Now 
take three-fourths of this product and divide by 231. This will give the 
contents in gallons. 

"HARD HIDE SOFTENER." 

This is a new preparation which I have recently originated. It is 
used in the soak before the stock is limed or milled. It is not a depilatory 
but simply a safe and reliable aid in softening the hardest sundried stock, 
Patna goat and other skins. It preserves the stock while in the soak from 
putre action, and by its use much timo is saved, and also labor in handling 
and breaking ; cracks and other injuries are avoided. 

At all seasons the driest stock yields quickly to its action, and is made 
quite like green stock, in perfect condition for sweating, or liming and 
bating, as the case may be. 

No watching or extra handling is required and usually no milling. 
The hides are often taken directly from the soak and thrown into the limes 
without washing. When the hair is to be removed by sweating, the hides 
must be thoroughly washed before hanging up. 

DIRECTIONS. 

Two gallons of the Softener should be well stirred into a tub of water 
containing about 500 gallons, the stock put in without being tightly pressed, 
and allowed to remain in about twenty-four hours ; of course the time and 
quantity of Softener used must vary with hardness of stock treated. The 
second soak can be used by adding one-half first quantity of Softener, 
one quarter fresh water ; the third soak must be made new like the first, 
and the fourth like the second, and so on alternately. When the object is 
merely to preserve the hides from rotting while they are in soak, use 2 
quarts of my Softener to 1000 galls, of water. 

Price, 75c. a gallon. Sold by the barrel, and also in 5- 10-, and 20- 
gallon kegs. 

" A NEW CLEAN SIG." 

This preparation was originated by me about two years ago, and is 
now u^ed largely in the trade. It is designed to render unnecessary the 



use of the ordinary Sig in tanneries which is so offensive, and also the use 
of soda and other caustic and injurious articles used to replace it. My 
Sig works well, when boiled with logwood it extracts all the coloring 
matter from it most thoroughly, far more so than the ordinary Sig, and 
when this is applied to the stock it cuts the grease and other undesirable 
matters most perfectly from surface of stock and gives a most thorough 
preparation for the black. It also possesses this advantage over the use 
of the ordinary Sig, and it is a very important one, that is, that leather 
treated with this preparation will not have the spue or white cloud come 
up on the surface of black. For harness leather my Sig is put up in 
liquid form. 

DIRECTIONS. 

Draw off from the barrel 1 gallon of Sig and mix with it 7-gallons of 
water. Now in this 8 gallons boil as much logwood as you would in 8 
gallons of ordinary Sig. Allow this to cool off till it is about blood heat 
(98° Fah.), then apply to stock in usual manner. 

Sold by the barrel, 30 cts, a gallon ; 5-gallon sample keg, $1.50. 

"HARNESS LEATHER BLACK." 

This is a new preparation which I have recently originated and is 
especially adapted to harness leather. It is somewhat similar in compo- 
sition to what hat manufacturers use to color hats. It is made in quantity 
by exact rule and tested before sending out, so absolute uniformity is 
secured. It is applied to surface of sides by means of a brush, after the 
sides have been treated to an application of logwood and sig. The color 
sets well, uniformly and quickly, does not strike through and remains 
soft while stored. The color is a deep rich black, no blueness, which is 
so common and undesirable on harness leather. But one grade made 
which is very strong, and in all cases must be diluted with about twice its 
bulk of water. 

Sold by the barrel, 16 cts. a gallon net, 5-gallon sample keg, $1.00. 

"RUSSIA STUFFING." 

This is a perfectly clean oil, entirely free from gum of all kinds, it 
may be used alone or combined with other materials, tallow, oils, wax, 
etc. It never becomes rancid or shows white on surface of the leather. 
During cold weather it requires to be slightly warmed, and applied in 
small quantities it sinks well into the leather, rendering it soft, firm and 
of fine finish, and making it keep and last well when stored. 

Price, 12 cts. a lb., packed in barrels. 

Samples of any of my preparations free, recipient to pay express 
charges. 

Address all orders and communications direct to 

WILLIAM M. NORRIS, 
P. O. Box 17. PlUNCKTON, N. J. 



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016 058 341 1 



CHEMICAL ANALYSIS FOR THE TANNERY. 

Tanners are beginning to appreciate slowly, very slowly, what chem- 
istry can do for them in various ways. The amount of tannin in barks, 
extracts, sumac, gambia, etc., is of the greatest importance as the amount 
and quality of the tannin in the various products alone constitute their 
value. 

To determine before purchasing how much tannin an extract or lot 
of bark contains would in many cases effect a great saving. 

Barkometers and specific gravity gauges which are much used are 
valuable in giving comparative results, but are frequently unreliable as 
many tan liquors. Spent liquors, etc., have substances in solution 
which increase their density without adding to their strength. 

Careful Chemical analysis alone can determine the amount of tannin 
present. 

Besides the question of tannin there are various other matters coming 
to the attention of the manufacturer of leather which require chemical 
investigation. The water used about the works may be undesirable. 
The blacks, mordants, etc., sometimes do not work properly. It is 
important to have tallow free from water and acids, and oils which do 
not leave a gummy surface, and other matters which are frequently 
coming up. 

All chemical work entrusted to me will be done with the greatest 
care and at a very iu.oderate cost. I would suggest to parties requiring 
chemical work to he (?one, to send their samples to a chemist rather than 
to those who, though they advertise i <>r and solicit this work, have no 
knowledge of the matter themselves, and are obliged to trust other parties 
to do their work for them, often in an imperfect manner. 

PRICE LIST. Estimation of Tannin m Barks, Extracts, Sumac, 
Gambia, Tan Liquors, Spent Bark, etc., $5.00 eaoh. 

Hardness of Water, $4.00. Total solids in Water, $5.00. Sanitary 
Analysis of Water. {? 10.00. 

Determination of Gum in Oils. $5.00. Water in Degrees $5.00. 

Analysis of Eg-r Yolk, SI 0.00. 

Free Acid in Blacks, $10.00. Specific Gravity and Iron in Blacks, $10. 

Send for more complete price list. 

Parties contemplating sending materials for analysis, will kindly 
write beforehand, so directions can be sent in regard to sampling, packing 
and shipping. All materials should be sent by mail or express, charges 
prepaid, to my offiee, Princeton, N. J. 

Address all communications to Wm. M. Norris, Princeton, N. J. 
P. O. Box 17. 



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